Say what you will about Rick Ross but there isn’t a hip-hop fan on Earth who can deny that the Maybach Music general has an ear for music and he knows it. On the BET Hip Hop Awards red carpet on Saturday (Sept. 28), Rozay boasted to TheDrop.fm that his competitors may feel some type of way about his demeanor on his forthcoming album, ‘Mastermind.’

So what’s the difference between ‘Mastermind’ and his last LP, ‘God Forgives, I Don’t'? “Oh, I’m talking s—,” Ross says with a rare chuckle. “I’m talking s—! Moreso than usual. It’s gon’ be a few muhf—ers that have a problem with this one.”

October 24th, 2013Rick Ross was one of just a handful of features on Jay Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail, with an appearance on "F---WithMeYouKnowIGotIt," and before the end of 2013 we'll hear another collaboration between the two moguls when Hov appears on the MMG CEO's Mastermind album in December.

Their latest track, "The Devil is a Lie," follows previous songs like Rozay's "3 Kings" and "Hustlin (remix),'" both of which feature verses from Jay.

It was "Hustlin'" though, that started it all when Ross dropped his debut album Port of Miami. "Me coming into the game in '06 off of my first single, which caused a big war, at the end of the day, it was the conversations I had with Jay Z that ultimately made me choose Def Jam Records," Ross told MTV News.

"Ever since then I always came to the table with new records to let him check me. From my second album, to my third and fourth, anytime I needed a collaboration, he always made it happen. He's been out of the country [for] some events, I've [called] him last minute and he made it happens. So there's was always been that genuine respect."

The Miami native didn't want to reveal too much about the upcoming single "The Devil Is a Lie," which would likely be released within the next month, but he did say, "We're pushing the envelope once again and it's just one of those records I can't wait to hit the streets."

"We went in another direction but it's just one of those records that's gonna speak for itself and everybody's gonna have their opinion of it," he added.

October 29th, 2013Last night (Oct. 29), the MMG HNIC invited a select crop of industry heads down to Manhattan’s Spotted Pig restaurant, where we we led through a second-floor door labeled EMPLOYEES ONLY and climbed a back staircase to finally arrive in a cozy bar area where servers passed out ****tails, cheese slices and delicious quartered burgers.

The standing dinner was held to preview some tracks from Ross’ hotly anticipated new album Mastermind, which is about seven weeks from release. Ross arrived around 10:30 p.m. without his customary shades masking his eyes (the room was already dim). He was in a upbeat mood, chatting and snapping photos, as the Miami Heat closed a 107-95 rout of the Chicago Bulls on a mounted flat screen.

But LeBron’s crew was tuned out as soon as the Mastermind tunes started rocking.

No, Ross didn’t play his new collaboration with Jay-Z, “The Devil Is A Lie.” But instead it was a record inspired by another Brooklyn rap legend that captivated the room of about 35 listeners.

Ross said that he feels Biggie could relate to this record, before the 911 call audio reporting the shooting at his Rolls Royce in January begins to play. Big was infamously gunned down in Los Angeles in 1997 while seated in the passenger side of a GMC Suburban SUV.

Next, the instrumental from The Notorious B.I.G.’s “You’re Nobody (Until Somebody Kills You)” drops and Ross began to address the attempt on his own life, his vocals eerily sounding a bit like Christopher Wallace’s. French Montana does his best impression of Future Vandross as he sings on the chorus on the song, of which Rozay didn't reveal the name.

He revealed that he recorded “Francis Ford Coppola,” named for the iconic director of The Godfather, in Dubai, seeking that cinematic feel that has defined much of MMG’s work.

Meanwhile, “Ultimate Price” analyzed the true cost to be the bawse. Another record put Ross’ success into perspective, claiming that he’s living a drug dealer’s dream.

Ross says he’s still finalizing the tracklist for Mastermind, which is currently being led by the single “No Games,” which features Future.

SourceOctober 30, 2013Classic! About 2 or 3 am this morning. Surrounded by fam @raekwon and @richforever. Ross and Rae got a new mean record together. We played that joint about 50 times back to back. Both of their albums sound so immaculate #FILA and #Mastermind. These are two that will set the tone for 2014. Mark my words.Follow

November 14th, 2013Rick Ross has been here before – with his sixth album Mastermind, and his fifth cover of The Source Magazine – he’s out to prove that he’ll be here for a while. In an interview with Shaheem Reid, the Teflon Don recalls some of the memories that helped him actualize his dream of being a major businessman and music mogul, and discusses the goals he has for himself and his team. “It feel good as hell. When you look at these dope ass covers, just being on the bible, it still means that much to me. You understand? I’m going into my 6th album, my 5th cover just letting you know that every year they supported the team MMG. Get ready for the craziest Ricky Rozay story, as soon as you see me on the cover, pick it up, even if I’m not on the cover, still pick it up. It’s the culture.”

On flipping Wu-Tang’s “Shame On A N***a & working with Raekwon on Mastermind:“It’s just like being blessed by the Hip-Hop Gods. They only open the Bible but for so many. I remember when Wu-Tang sucked all the air out of Miami, I was still in high school and it was the f*ckin’ Wu-Tang; n****s from the dirtiest areas and streets of America.

On referencing the attempt on his life on his new album, Mastermind:“Me being in that position that I was in, or that I’m in, it was like ‘maybe the homie was really trying to tell us something, but we just took it as a record. We took it as a song.’ I was like that’s why it was so powerful and meaningful to us as a culture. We’re all fighting for our own existence. Every day we perform, every day you got to go to work, we’re fighting the critics off you, your bosses, your managers, your coworkers of whatever it is. We all on some level relate to those record”

On the Mastermind recording process being the longest of his career:“I took my time. I toured with the team. Last album, I toured with the team and went back into this album. The approach production wise, the overall agenda for the music and the album, I took my time.

OKP: Speaking of trying something new we heard from Rick Ross that he recruited you for a song on his new record–is that true?

BW: Yeah, that’s very true but you know I’m trying to catch up with Rick Ross to hear what we recorded! It was great because with his tracks, it wasn’t even like trying something new, he really brought something close to some of my old records and…I was at home with it, I would say, when we went in the studio together.

OKP: So you would say he reached back to your vibe…

BW: He reached back to something he felt from my records and it was great. I was very surprised with that because it’s embarrassing sometimes, you know, when I have to ask my son (whispers): Who’s Rick Ross? –and he’s like, Daddy he’s one of the hottest rappers out here—not ‘one of the’, the hottest rapper out here! And I say: Ok, I didn’t know. I think sometimes its better not to know, you know. Because I’ve been blessed to work with some many people in my time: Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix…and I still see them. It sounds crazy but when I perform, I see them there on stage with me, like they’re grading my performance. And I mention them in my music for that reason, because they’re very present to me…